Transcript Unit 1: Introduction to Historical Thinking

Unit 1: Introduction to
Historical Thinking
Day 2
Questions:
1.
What do you expect from this course?
2.
How should data be interpreted on a timeline?
3.
How do you interpret the literal meanings of a historical passage
and differentiate between facts and opinion?
4.
What must be done to comprehend the historical significance of
visual, literary, and musical sources?
5.
What are key historical conflicts and what are possible multiple
perspectives on each?
6.
How do you assess cause and effect situations?
7.
How do historical events affect contemporary issues?
Create a Timeline of Your Life
In your notebooks, create a timeline about yourself
from Birth to Now
Include key TURNING POINTS and events
Be prepared to share these timelines in class!
In pairs….
Choose any historical event (you can skim the textbook
if you need ideas) or current event
Create a cause and effect chart for this event
Again, be prepared to share with the class as we review
historical causation!
In different pairs…
Respond to the following scenarios about evaluating
sources in your history notebooks.
A. Historical Question: Who was present at the signing of
the Declaration of Independence?
 Source 1: Hollywood movie about the American
Revolution made 2001.
 Source 2: Book written by a famous historian who is an
expert on the American Revolution, published in 1999.
Which do you trust more? Why?
Evaluating Sources
B. Historical Question: What was slavery like in South
Carolina?
 Source 1: Interview with former slave in 1936. The
interviewer is a black man collecting oral histories for the
Federal Writers’ Project.
 Source 2: Interview with former slave in 1936. The
interviewer is a white woman collecting oral histories for the
Federal Writers’ Project.
Which do you trust more? Why?
Evaluating Sources
C. Historical Question: What was the layout of the Nazi
concentration camp Auschwitz?
 Source 1: Interview with 80 year-old Holocaust
survivor in 1985.
 Source 2: Map of concentration camp found in Nazi
files.
Which do you trust more? Why?
Evaluating Sources
D. Historical Question: Why were Japanese Americans put in
internment camps during WWII?
 Source 1: Government film explaining internment from
1942.
 Source 2: Government report on Japanese Internment from
1983 based on declassified government documents.
Which do you trust more? Why?
Evaluating Sources
E. Historical Question: Did American soldiers commit
atrocities during the Vietnam War in 1969?
 Source 1: Sworn testimony by American Sergeant in
Congressional hearings in 1969.
 Source 2: Speech by American General touring the
United States in 1969.
Which do you trust more? Why?
Evaluating Sources
F. Historical Question: What happened at the Battle of
Little Bighorn?
 Source 1: High school history textbook from 1985.
 Source 2: Newspaper account from the day after the
battle in June 1876.
Which do you trust more? Why?
Answers
A. Source 2: Historians base their accounts on multiple primary and secondary documents and
extensive research. Hollywood films have no standards for historical accuracy.
B. Source 1: Audience shapes the stories we tell. We can imagine that even in 1936, a former slave
would be wary of criticizing slavery to a white government official. That is not to say that
Source 1 is necessarily accurate; we can imagine a former slave might exaggerate accounts or
possibly not remember details so well. Of the two sources, however, Source 1 will probably be
more trustworthy.
C. Source 2: Human memory is notoriously unreliable. A map of a concentration is technically an
“objective” source. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that the map perfectly mirrored
the layout of the camp.
D. Source 2: Any government film created in 1942 to explain internment would be propaganda.
The declassified evidence in the Congressional report makes Source 2 more reliable.
E. Source 1: Sworn testimony is the gold standard of evidence. Although testimony can be
corrupted by lying, coercion, and the shakiness of human memory, in this instance Source 1 is
more reliable than a public speech by a General whose reputation is on the line.
F. Neither: Textbooks from the 1980s tended to overlook and/or neglect the experiences and
accounts of Native Americans. On the other hand, a newspaper account from 1876 would
likely have lacked credible evidence about the battle and/or have been biased towards Custer
and his men.
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have now completed a quick review of all historical
thinking skills and you are ready to start taking notes
tomorrow!